My eyes dropped to my hands, arms, legs, searching for something, anything that looked different. They didn’t, but that feeling of difference I’d noticed earlier only intensified.
Everything was stronger, sharper. My hand went to my belly as I felt it rumble. I was hungrier.
“What did you do to me?” My voice cracked, betraying the fact that I was barely holding together.
Rack’s head dipped, shoulders pulling in, bracing for a blow.
I didn’t wait. I bolted for the bathroom and slammed my hand on the door as words tumbled over each other under my breath. “No, that’s not possible. There’s just no way.”
Staring in the mirror at my reflection, I could see that I was still me, not some bloodthirsty monster.
I had the same dark hair, same red tips and body structure. My face was still round and everything in its normal place, but everything else was… sharper. More angled.
My skin was just a shade lighter, any color I had before was wiped clean, leaving this pale version, but the biggest difference was my eyes. A deep, vibrant red stared back at me, watching me, like a predator.
It was me, and yet… not me.
I stepped closer without meaning to. My breath caught as I leaned in, staring, searching. Slowly, almost hesitantly, I dragged my tongue along my teeth.
If I was a vampire… where were my fangs? Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it didn't take. Could that happen?
Before I could ask, a scent cut through my thoughts. The sweet, rich aroma hooked into something deep in my chest. Something primal.
My head snapped toward it, and before I even realized, I’d moved. My stomach tightened as a low, involuntary growl slipped out.Chase. Hunt. Feed.
Rack stood in the doorway, one shoulder braced against the frame, a small blade glinting in his hand while the other hovered in front of me. He held out his finger, from which, a dark line of blood slipped down, slow and deliberate.
My eyes tracked the movement, and I licked my lips before a sharp, foreign pressure came from my mouth. I swung toward the mirror, lips parting as I stared at the two ivory points that peeked out.
Fangs. Here they were.
“It's going to take time,” Rack started, his words steady, almost careful. “They react to hunger, to the scent right now, but eventually you’ll be able to?—”
The rest of his words fell away as my fingers circled around his wrist, gripping tight. I wrapped my lips around his finger, and the taste hit my tongue with the strength of a spark dropped into dry kindling.
Heat surged, flooding my senses as it raced through my veins, filling every hollow place I didn’t know existed. Yanking his arm closer, I pulled at the cut harder, greedier, chasing that taste as it bloomed across my tongue. It was a smoky, sweet flavor, with something wild underneath that made my head spin.
“Olivia.” His voice broke, breath catching, and the way he said my name had something else curling low in my stomach. “That—feels?—”
I barely heard him as something inside me thumped, pulsing through my whole body until it took over my thoughts.Blood. Need. More.
Every cell in my body was hammered with that all-consuming need. As the taste fell down my throat, a memory of feeling this way before flooded my mind.
A strong taut body on top of me. Calix. His arm. His blood. The rich, overwhelming taste had filled me until I thought I’d drown in it,wantedto drown in it.
I jerked back with a gasp. His finger slipped from my mouth, and the world snapped into place around me. My stomach twisted as more memories from that night followed.
The way my body instantly reacted once I saw it was him. The thirst surging through my soul pointed in only one direction before this dark force growled in my head and my body took over.
Muscles grew taut as strength and speed took over, and I switched positions in the blink of an eye. His eyes widened in shock as I pushed him down, moving without thinking, without stopping, rubbing myself against his crotch. I was hungry for more than just blood.
“Oh my god!” My hands flew to my face, pressing hard like I could shove the memory back where it came from. “Oh my god!”
I began pacing without direction, needing some kind of energy outlet. Lost in that hungry, lustful state, I’dassaultedCalix.
“I have to apologize,” I muttered, the words tumbling over each other. “I have to?—”
The memories didn’t stop there. Flashes of Calix’s hands on me. The way everything burned, the way I begged him, pleaded with him to give me more. The ache in my bones had been so deep, the pain of my body changing while I was conscious was almost unbearable. The more he gave, the more I consumed, but it still wasn't enough.
